6-6.30 Tea or coffee with delicious deserts at Mickey&Monkey (cozy place with truly local Saint-Petersburg’s atmosphere)

7.00 Drop off at your hotel or Viking ship (by metro or taxi)

For Viking cruise passengers. You do on your own with Viking: Winter Palace and Hermitage, Catherine Palace, St. Isaac’s exterior and interior, Peter & Paul Fortress, and Nevsky Prospekt.

Timing: 8 hours is enough for this list (1-5). Peterhof itself will take about 5 hours with round cruise. You are welcome to add things and it can be spread to 10 or even 12 13 hours.

Nuance: 10.00 am would be the right time to start – you will need enough energy for this quest and a good sleep will help. Still, it’s early enough to extend the tour in case you will want.

Moscow

Walking tour of Moscow

You can do/see/experience:

?St. Basil’s Cathedral

Armory Chamber (and the Diamond Fund, if lines are not huge. We can expect anything even when it’s not high season. If we choose between to see or not to see, we definitely choose the first one. If we choose between “get stuck in the line” or “see more of Moscow”, we would recommend the second. If you do the Diamond Fund in Moscow you may skip Faberge Museum in St Petersburg and vice versa. Or you may still want to do that to tick off from your bucket list

Get a taste of Gorky Park since it is so famous + Muzeon park with 900 statues

Tretyakov Gallery

Tea experience

Kitay Gorod area

Zamoskvorechye area. These areas are the most historical neighborhood of Moscow with numerous sights, churches, and other hidden gems which most tourists don’t know about.

Victory Park (if you are interested in WWII theme)

O2 lounge bar, which is very expensive, but offers unique views of Kremlin and surroundings. You can just get some tea, it’s worth a visit, really

Christ the Savior Cathedral

Arbat street

A bit of off the beaten path: Ziferblat anticafe, Chistoprudny bulvar, Tea House on Myasnitskaya street, local bliny in Teremok – a chain of Russian crepes and pancakes (you havent been to Moscow if you havent tried bliny at Teremok – that’s my humble opinion) – they are all close to each other and are very local experiences, loved by locals.

Izmaylovo Flea Market and Kremlin

Must do historical streets of Moscow: Nikolskaya, Varvarka, Ilyinka, Kuznetsk Bridge, Kamergersky lane, Stoleshnikov lane, Petrovka street with local handmade market on Kuznetsk bridge, and nice holy pastry on Ilyinka street which comes from the local church

3.00 Walk around Sparrow Hills, panoramic views of Moscow from observation deck, Moscow State University – one of seven Stalin skyscrapers

4.00 Boat trip on Moscow river or Metro tour with some of the most beautiful Moscow metro stations.

5.00 Drop off at your hotel or at the central spot in the city, depending on time

For Viking cruise passengers. You will do on your own with Viking: ?Bolshoi (drive by only), Red Square (and St. Basil’s but only the outside), GUM Department Store, a Metro station, and Kremlin (see Tsar’s Cannon and Tsar’s Bell and inside 2 cathedrals)

Saint Petersburg:

Hydrofoil tickets – 1300 rubles pp for round-trip

Grand Palace – 550 rubles pp. Can easily sky rocket if you want to visit inside of other museums and Lower Gardens, each extra ticket is about 400-500 rubles pp more. My idea is that Grand Palace is absolutely enough. Fountains and Gardens will also take your time and give you much joy and pleasure

Lunch in Candies by Coffee Room – a hit among locals, no tourists know about the place (yet) – about 300-400 rubles pp for lunch deal

Faberge Museum – 300 rubles pp

Russian State Museum – 300 rubles pp

Total:

Can be done at about 4000-4500 rubles per person, including all mentioned above entrance fees and meals (a bit over $60)

Moscow:

Lunch in Ukranian traditional restaurant (our fav choice, since it’s so atmospheric and always great food, ideally located for the tour) – 400-500 rubles per person if you order a lunch deal, otherwise can easily be 1000 rubles pp

+ Flexibility during the tour: changes can be made at any time to suit your individual preferences.

+ Your personal tour guide focuses solely on you and makes sure you get the most out of your experience.

+ Your personal travel consultant is at your service any time via email, facebook, skype or whatsapp. You will not feel alone with Friendly Local Guides.

+ Must do + off the beaten path of the city.

+ An authentic experience of local life.

+ Local cosy cafes and restaurants with traditional cuisine and interior.

+ Lunch specials on weekdays (Mon-Fri).

+ Best coffee shops in the city.

+ A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow and Saint Petersburg scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.

+ Special offers for taxi and hotels with good location and price.

+ Expert local advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in the city.

*This tour can be modified to meet your preferences

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$327 — 2 days

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Our private guide Vika made our time in St Petersburg very special. Not only she provides in-depth historic context to all sights, but she also has a very warm personality and is a fun person to spend the day with. Enjoyed every minute of the tour. Don’t hesitate.

anna peshkova, Kharkiv, Oct 17, 2016

Moscow and St Petersburg tour wouldn’t be so special for us without Valery in St Petersburg and Gelena in Moscow. They made our trip truly unique. There was no sightseeing we missed and they even added some extra highlights in our itinerary. All of our friends feel jealous now :P

Stefano Rossi, Italy, Apr 20, 2016

We had a group of 7 people and seemed like we were hard to organize, but Maria with her professional skills of an organizer could manage to keep us together and kindle our interest and curiosity throughout the trip. She is very professional and intelligent. And we will definitely make use of her wonderful services next time we come.

Hannah Schulz, Germany, Apr 20, 2016

We had a truly great time in both cities. Our guides Sasha and Dasha toured us to the most historical and cultural places in Moscow and St Petersburg and we took thousands of pictures. My husband was very happy with the trip too. We highly recommend this tour and Sasha and Dasha as best guides in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Jane Cross, England, Apr 20, 2016

What can be better then visiting two major cities in Russia in two days? It was a great tour and I am happy I booked it. Our guide Valery was very helpful, supportive and kind. Her English is fabulous and we shared some stories about our past travel experiences. We really enjoyed our stay in Russia with Sasha and our St Petersburg and Moscow tour.

Beverly Hickey, UK, Apr 20, 2016

Friendly Local Guides exceeded our expectations. We had one day in Moscow and one day in St Petersburg. They suggested a wonderful itinerary, took us to a good place with a delicious lunch, showed us best places for photo shooting, took lots of pictures with us, and were very friendly and knowledgeable. We left Russia feeling like we have new friends here.